A ROOM FILLED WITH GIFTS FOR THE KIDS

Please welcome one of my best friends, Anna Jeffrey, an award-winning author. Not only does she write as Anna Jeffrey, she has also co-written books as USA Today bestselling author Dixie Cash. As you'll see below, she's also a gifted artist as well as an accomplished author.

Remember to comment during Advent to be eligible for the Christmas Eve drawing of the Kindle Fire 7.

What is your favorite childhood Christmas memory?

Christmas at my great-grandpa’s house, when all of the family would come and bring presents. I was around 5 to 7 years old. At that time, my great-grandparents had 9 kids living, and most of them had kids of their own, so it was a lot of people. The Christmas tree was usually in the corner of the living room, which was a room never used at any other time of the year, and the presents would stretch out to the center of the room. Oddly enough, one of my most vivid memories is that my grandmas always got pots and pans for presents.

This photo is my great-grandpa's house in West Texas where I spent the first 8 years of my life. The people on the porch are my great-grandpa and great-grandma and 7 of their 9 kids. This picture was taken when the house was fairly new, somewhere around 1900 and was where the whole family gathered every holiday. The lumber for the house was hauled by horse and wagon from Abilene, which was about 80 miles away. I don't know who built it in the first place, but it had 8 bedrooms. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the inside.

This is an oil painting I did of the old gas station and mechanic's garage not far from my great-grandpa's house. It was also the post office. The white stuff on the ground isn't snow. It's cotton. The cotton gin was just down the road from it. It's gone now, but when I was a kid, it was a thriving business.

What is your favorite adult Christmas memory?

When my husband and I lived in Idaho, one Christmas Eve we had a heavy snowfall that didn’t let up for days. All around our house, the depth was about four feet. My daughter and her husband had gone to his family’s house for the holiday, so my husband and I were alone. We and some friends did a progressive dinner riding on snow machines. We always had a white Christmas in Idaho, but we usually weren’t out in the weather and usually didn’t have quite that much snow. It felt very Christmas-y.

Is there a Christmas song that’s your favorite?

A.   Secular: “White Christmas” sung by Bing Crosby

B.   Religious: “O Holy Night” sung by any large choir

Tell us about your family’s Christmas traditions.

They are long gone now, but my great-grandpa used to always give all the kids a bag of apples and oranges. Don’t know where he got them at that time of year in West Texas.

The coat is an opaque water color I painted of my husband George's

old work coat hanging on the door of his  cabin in the mountains about 

50 miles from McCall, Idaho. We used to spend a lot of time up there. 

Talk about silence! 

What about Christmas do you most enjoy?

Most people seem to be happy at Christmas. They seem to work at it.

The old barn is an oil painting I did and I don't even remember where

it is. Obviously in the Northwest somewhere.

Is there something about this holiday that drives you crazy?

Not any more. I used to work in the retail business, so all of it drove me crazy in those days.

What do you hope for this Christmas?

Time and good health and a little more good will.

This is an oil painting of a deteriorating gold mining dredge in Warren Creek, Idaho. This is how they pulled many dollars worth of gold from that area. I don't know how old it is, but it wasn't far from George's cabin. Believe it or not, one year, I won the Blue Ribbon and the "Best of Show" ribbon at the Idaho State Fair with this gold-mining dredge. Interesting history.

Do you have a treasured Christmas food?

Christmas cookies and candies. I used to make both and give for Christmas presents. In Idaho, we had wonderful fruit available at that time of year. I always made chutneys and various jams and fruit honeys to give for presents. One of my faves was pear honey. Larruping!

Divinity Fudge

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup white Karo syrup

2 large egg whites, stiffly beaten

1/2 cup water

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon cream tartar

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

 Beat egg whites until stiff and set aside. Cook sugar, Karo, water, salt, and cream of tartar until it forms a hard ball in water. Pour over stiffly beaten egg whites. Add vanilla and nuts. Beat and pour into lightly buttered pan to harden.

Warning: Do not make this on a cloudy or rainy day or it may not harden. 

Do you have a book you’d like to share?

Since I mentioned Idaho, I'll share a book set in Idaho: THE LOVE OF A COWBOY, book 1 of the Callister Trilogy.

THE LOVE OF A COWBOY was published as a result of winning a contest. It started out to be a saga about a legendary ranching family: Luke McRae, his parents and his siblings and the various dramas that affected their lives. The editor who judged it and bought it wanted to pluck out only Dahlia and Luke's story. The revision was a daunting process that required cutting around 50,000 words. The editor encouraged me every step of the way and in the end, my debut book became a work I'm proud of.

THE LOVE OF A COWBOY Summary:

When Texas beauty Dahlia Montgomery and her best friend journey to Idaho for a change of scenery for the summer, the last thing she expects to encounter is Luke McRae, a lean, rugged cowboy intent on sweeping her off her feet and into his bed. Dahlia can't resist his rugged cowboy swagger and his sky blue eyes, even though she knows he can break her heart.

Luke is part owner and manager of the legendary Double-Deuce Ranch in the Idaho mountains. With the ranch, and alcoholic ex-wife, a shrewish mother and three kids to worry about, he has no interest in romance. But that doesn't mean he has given up on casual sex with beautiful women...But is either he or Dahlia prepared for the consequences of a sexy summer romp?

Amazon buy link: http://a.co/fDj3pay 

Anna Jeffrey, Author

A few words about Anna Jeffrey….

Anna Jeffrey is an award-winning author of romance novels as well as romantic comedy/mystery. She has written 10 romance novels and co-authored 7 as USA Today Bestselling author, Dixie Cash. Her most recent book is “The Cattleman.”

She loves most things western, from the customs and culture to the philosophy of life. She enjoys many hobbies, i.e., reading, painting and drawing, crafting, needlework and beading. Anna is a fifth generation Texan. She was born and grew up in West Texas, where most of her family members were farmers and ranchers or worked in the oil fields. She left Texas for many years and lived in four of the western states, a rich experience she’ll never forget. These days, she’s back home in Texas. She and her husband currently live in a small town not far from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

Website: http://annajeffrey.com

Blog: http://annajeffreyauthor.wordpress.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annabeffreybooks

Twitter: @AnnaJeffrey

Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/annajeffrey/my-anna-jeffrey-books

Like my Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Jeffrey/e/B001IR3EO8

ANNA JEFFREY, MULTI-TALENTED WOMAN OF THE WEST

About twenty years, I met author Anna Jeffrey at an RWA chapter meeting in Fort Worth. With her sister Pam Cumbie, the two make up the romantic comedy/mystery writing team of Dixie Cash. On her own, Anna is a very talented author. (As a friend, she is a hoot and a half.)

Like me, Anna grew up in West Texas. She’s a fifth generation Texan who loves most things western from the customs and culture to the philosophy of life. Most of her family members were farmers and ranchers or worked in the oil fields.

For those of you who have never lived in West Texas, it’s another world. That’s not a criticism, just a fact. Anna and I didn’t grow up in the same town, but the atmosphere was the same. We grew up during the great oil boom, an era filled with “real-life” fictional characters who cry to be written into a story. As well, farms and ranches were a part of the landscape. 

Talented in many areas, Anna painted a scene anyone from West Texas would recognize. Many little crossroads in farming communities had a cotton gin, a café/store which sold gasoline, and at least a couple of houses for the gin’s manager and head ginner. By the way, the white in Anna’s painting is not snow, it’s cotton/cotton lint blown from the gin. The stuff drifted for hundreds of yards.

Store/post office of Peacock, Stonewall County, Texas

Anna has worked in various areas from store owner to realtor and author. Thank heavens she has kept writing sexy contemporary romance with an edge as Anna Jeffrey and the romantic comedy/mystery series written with her sister as Dixie Cash. In fact, Anna is a USA Today bestselling author. Her books have won the Write Touch Readers’ Award, the Aspen Gold, the More Than Magic, and the NEC Readers’ Choice awards.

Here’s a painting multi-talented Anna did of her husband’s coat hanging on the door of his mountain cabin in Idaho. The medium is opaque water color.

Coat belonging to Anna's husband George
in his Idaho mountain cabin

Also an Idaho subject is the painting of this old abandoned gold mining dredge. Can’t you just imagine the stories that went on while this was in use?

Gold mining dredge, Idaho

A subject I love is this old barn Anna painted in oils. I love the colors and the contrast of the yellow at the bottom and the green forest behind.

I love old barns and this one appeals to me

After leaving Texas for a while, Anna lived in California, Arizona, Oregon, and Idaho. The latter is the setting for her first books written as herself, the Callister series. These were my first introduction to her writing and I loved each of those books.  Her series set in Texas include the West Texas series, the Strayhorns, Miranda’s Chronicles (erotic), and—if you crave longer books—the Sons of Texas series. I’ve read each one and highly recommend them. You can find out more about her at her Amazon Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/Anna-Jeffrey/e/B001IR3EO8/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461124396&sr=1-2-ent

Anna's latest book is as Dixie Cash, a romantic comedy/mystery in the Domestic Equalizer series. The series features Debbie Sue and Edwina, hair stylists whose shop was converted from an old gas station. The duo is zany and inquisitive and know everyone in the community. Due to their success solving crimes, they set up their private detection service called Domestic Equalizers. 

Here's the blurb for YOU CAN HAVE MY HEART BUT DON'T TOUCH MY DOG:

After two divorces, Sandi Walker (Edwina's niece and entrepreneur extraordinaire) is on her own and loving it. As a devout animal lover, she has made a success of the only gourmet pet food bakery in Midland, Texas. She's also a pet foster parent and has fifteen assorted abused and unwanted animals at home. When a golden-colored stray dog with an abundance of personality appears at her door, she can't refuse him and she can't keep from falling in love with him. She names him Waffle and gives him a permanent home.

General Manager of the Flying C Ranch, Nick Conway, has searched for months for his lost dog, Buster. Giving up on ever finding him, he looks for a new dog and finds a puppy at a pet grooming shop.  While he went to the shop to see a puppy, he also encountered a beautiful redheaded woman he can't put out of his mind. Little does he know that she found Buster in an alley and has now claimed him as her own. Sparks fly between Sandi and Nick when he steals Buster and sues her in court for custody. It will take a mouthy parrot, a sitting judge, the matchmaking skills of the Domestic Equalizers and Cupid himself to resolve this conflict.

YOU CAN HAVE MY HEART BUT DON'T TOUCH MY DOG Excerpt:

"Nick…began to unload everything off the tray and set it on the table. Two baskets of hamburgers and fries and a couple of Hogg’s locally-famous fried pies enclosed inside parchment wrappers. They were half the size of a dinner plate.

She stared at the array of food. “That’s a lot of food. I don’t see a small hamburger.”

“A child’s hamburger is the size of a quarter. Not enough to eat. I got you a regular size.”

Controlling jerk. Sandi made a huff of annoyance. “You also got fried pies. What kind?”

“Apricot. The kind my granny used to make when I was a little tyke. Hogg’s uses lard in the crust, just like my granny did. That’s why they taste so good.”

She made a mental groan. “A fried pie made by these people probably has about five thousand calories.”

His brow scrunched into a frown. “You’re not gonna eat a fried pie after I got you one?”

She shook her head. “I am not. I did not ask for a fried pie. You obviously aren’t concerned with your diet, but I try to limit the carbs I eat. I don’t want to have a heart attack before I’m thirty-five and I want to be able to pass through the front door of my shop.”

He scooted the fried pie across the table toward her. “One little fried pie is not gonna give you a heart attack or put twenty pounds on you. Maybe a dose of sugar will put you in a better mood.”

Find YOU CAN HAVE MY HEART BUT DON’T TOUCH MY DOG on Amazon at this link: http://amzn.com/B01CIL979S

Anna Jeffrey/Dixie Cash

Anna's social media links are:

Website: www.annajeffrey.com –

Blog: http://annajeffreyauthor.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anna.jeffrey.3?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/annajeffrey

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/annajeffrey/

 

Dixie Cash--Pam Cumbie
and Anna Jeffrey

ROMANCE NOVEL HEAT LEVELS

I write all heat level except erotica. I think whether or not the couple has sex depends on the characters and their situation but some readers don’t understand the difference in the ratings. Please let me explain the way I see these ratings.

 Sweet – This involves no touching below the neck except the arms and hands. I have written sweet novels over the years. More of them later than earlier. A great author to read for sweet romance novels is Debra Holland and her Montana Sky series and Mail Order Brides of the West series. Another, if you like humor, is Kirsten Osbourne. My sweet novels are O’NEILL’S TEXAS BRIDE, WINTER BRIDE, STONE MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS (novella), TABITHA’S JOURNEY (novella), LONG WAY HOME (novella), STONE MOUNTAIN REUNION (a short story) and the contemporaries HOME SWEET TEXAS HOME and mysteries DEATH IN THE GARDEN and ALMOST HOME. One of my favorite sweet with a hard edge series is the 1947 serial WOMEN OF COURAGE: LOVE RELEASED by Geri Foster. This is superb writing that keeps me hooked on every line. I feel as if I know these characters personally.

Sensual – Many of my novels fall into this category. There’s consummated sex but it’s not of the super-steamy variety. Those include GABE KINCAID, HIGH STAKES BRIDE, SAVE YOUR HEART FOR ME (novella), THE MOST UNSUITABLE HUSBAND, OUT OF THE BLUE (time travel), MAIL ORDER PROMISE (in the duet MAIL-ORDER TANGLE with Jacquie Rogers) and the contemporary BE MY GUEST. In fact, some of sex scenes are between a hero and heroine who are married. Those would be BRAZOS BRIDE (now free), THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE (now free), THE MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP, BLUEBONNET BRIDE, McCLINTOCK’S RELUCTANT BRIDE, and THE MOST UNSUITABLE WIFE. If you like sensual novels, you’ll enjoy reading books by Cynthia Woolf, Callie Hutton, Jacquie Rogers, and Sylvia McDaniel.

Steamy – Involves more graphic sexual terms and longer sex scenes. I’m not sure I’ve written any novels in the steamy category, but if I have it’s the contemporary SNOWFIRES.  Someone who does steamy extremely well is Anna Jeffrey. Her THE TYCOON and THE CATTLEMAN will leave you breathless. I can hardly wait until she releases the third in the Sons of Texas series, THE HORSEMAN. In the meantime, you can preorder her super steamy DESIRED for only 99 cents.

Erotica --  Graphic and may include BDSM. One I’ve read that was well-written was by Sylvia Day. Other well known authors are E. L. James and Desiree Holt. I haven’t written anything in this genre.  

Every reader has specific expectations from a novel. Whatever you want from your time spent reading, there’s a romance novel waiting to take you on an exciting adventure with a happily ever after ending.

REVIEW OF THE CATTLEMAN BY ANNA JEFFREY

If you read the first of Anna Jeffrey’s Sons of Texas Trilogy, THE TYCOON, then no doubt you joined me in eagerly waiting for THE CATTLEMAN. Ms Jeffrey did not disappoint with this book.

Unlike his older brother Drake, Pic Lockhart is a rancher. After a failed early marriage that cost his family big bucks, Pic is hesitant to marry again. Not that he’s unable to commit. He and Amanda Breckinridge love one another and are a long-standing item. But only in the privacy of her home or an evening drive to another town.

Amanda is the award-winning swimming coach and English teacher whose private life is overlooked by the school board, probably because the Lockhart family makes large contributions to the school and community. Although she longs for more than their current situation allows, she hesitates to press Pic for fear of losing him. But he’s more likely to lose her if he doesn't step up.

In the first book, we learned of the senior Lockhats’ tumultuous marriage and separation. That situation continues, but Pic’s mom occasionally visits the Double-Barrel Ranch to interfere in the lives of her children and her cheating ex-husband who still loves her. Mama can’t stand the fact that Pic is seeing “a nobody” of whom she disapproves and arranges for him to meet the daughter of a friend. Zochi, that friend’s sexy daughter, tests Pic’s self-control.

In the meantime more mischief is being orchestrated against the Lockharts on several levels. Although readers won’t learn who is behind the problems (I have my suspicions) until the next book, THE CATTLEMAN ends with Pic’s life firmly set to rights in a way that satisfied this reader. I don't give spoilers so I can't tell you more. Now I can hardly wait to read the third book when it’s released.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. If you enjoy Linda Lael Miller and Joan Johnston, you’re sure to enjoy THE TYCOON and THE CATTLEMAN.

THE TYCOON Amazon link:  http://amzn.com/B00AQS1GWC

THE CATTLEMAN Amazon buy link: http://amzn.com/B00N24Z2R2

About Anna Jeffrey

Anna Jeffrey, Author

Anna Jeffrey is an award-winning author of romance novels as well as romantic comedy/mystery. She has written 9 romance novels and co-authored 7 as USA Today Bestselling author, Dixie Cash.

Her Anna Jeffrey’s books have won the Write Touch Readers’ Award, the Aspen Gold, and the More Than Magic awards. Her books have been finalists in the Colorado Romance Writers award, the Golden Quill and Southern Magic as well as the Write Touch Readers’ Award, the Aspen Gold and the More than Magic awards. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Dallas Area Romance Authors and PASIC.

Anna is a fifth generation Texan. She was born and grew up in West Texas, where most of her family members were farmers and ranchers or worked in the oil fields. She left Texas for many years and lived in four of the western states, a rich experience she’ll never forget.

She loves most things western, from the customs and culture to the philosophy of life. She enjoys many hobbies, i.e., reading, painting and drawing, crafting, needlework and beading.

These days, she’s back home in Texas. She and her husband currently live in Granbury, Texas, a small town not far from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

Find her website at http://www.annajeffrey.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/annajeffreybooks

Twitter https://twitter.com/annajeffrey

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/74577.Anna_Jeffrey

Thanks for stopping by.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE?

What is your favorite book of those you’ve read in the past year?

That is the question I ask when someone follows me on Twitter at @CarolinClemmons (no E in Caroline). Often people answer with a book I’ve never heard of, but there are a few repeats. Among them are GONE GIRL, THE BOOK THIEF, THE CONFESSION OF CHARLOTTE DOYLE.

Now I’ll share some of my favorites of books I’ve read in the past year.

THE CATTLEMAN by Anna Jeffrey is the second in her Sons of Texas Series, set near Fort Worth. I loved Pic Lockhart and the story surrounding him. You will too. Anna is a strong writer who weaves multiple threads together masterfully in this women’s-fiction-type contemporary romance.

OUT OF THE DARK by Geri Foster is in her Falcon Securities series of contemporary romantic suspense. How would you react if you had amnesia and didn’t know who you could trust? All Tony Archuletta knows is that some people claim to be friends yet others are trying to kill him. He senses he must get to St. Peterburg, Russia but doesn’t know why he knows this is urgent or what he’s supposed to do when he arrives. This opens with action that lasts through all the book.

SLEIGHT OF HEART by Jacquie Rogers is a fun, action-packed western historical romance. Hero Burke O’Shaunessy is one of my favorite heroes ever. The model for heroine Lexie was Jacquie’s aunt, who was an amazing math whiz.

DESPERATE: LIPSTICK AND LEAD by Sylvia McDaniel is a short novella written to introduce the three sisters for her latest series. This western historical is fun and includes surprises. It’s available now as a single. But this novella is included in the upcoming box set, WILD WESTERN WOMEN, which also includes novellas by Callie Hutton, Kirsten Osbourne, Merry Farmer, and me!

MAIL-ORDER TANGLE by Jacquie Rogers and Caroline Clemmons. Yes, I realize listing my book is vain, but I do love this box duet. Jacquie and I worked together by phone and email to link our books seamlessly (in my opinion) as two cousins find mail-order wives who are sisters.

KATIE AND THE IRISH TEXAN by Carra Copelin is a short western historical novella that introduces one of the families in her Code series. The characters came to Texas from Ireland. I love Irish characters, and Carra does a good job with the dialogue.

BRIDE OF THE HIGH COUNTRY by Kaki Warner in her runaway brides series is a book I won and set aside to read later. I’m so sorry I waited because this is a great book. The heroine’s character development through three stages of her life is remarkable—from terrified Irish immigrant Cathleen Donovan to socially prominent ward Margaret Hamilton to self-sufficient Lucinda Hawthorne who claims her life in Heartbreak Creek, Colorado. 

What's your favorite of the books you've read in the past year? 

Thanks for stopping by!

A FUN CHAIN BLOG FROM JACQUIE ROGERS TO ME AND ON

Today’s post is part of a chain blog. No, nothing like a chain letter. Jacquie Rogers tagged me and today is my turn. She is the author of one of my favorite ever series, the Hearts of Owhee series--or as I call them, the Much Ado series. The first is MUCH ADO ABOUT MARSHALS. Jacquie lives in Seattle now, but she grew up in Owyhee County, Idaho, and that’s where she sets her wonderful, funny, western historical romances. She comes from a long line of no-holds-barred storytellers. Even better,she’s a writer, and writers do tend to get carried away. Her parents actually owned a dairy farm in Owyhee County, Idaho, near Homedale and she grew up milking cows, breaking ice on the calves' water troughs and checking the bottoms of my shoes before entering the house. She says she doesn’t miss the frigid Idaho winters, but she does recall those soulful calf eyes with fondness. Nowadays, the only soulful eyes she sees are those of her husband when he pokes his head in her office for the tenth time and asks me when she’s going to fix dinner.

Those early farm days gave her a solid grounding in Real Life and provided endless fodder for her stories. Back then, she was a member of the Homedale Rod & Gun Club, Stateline Grange, and Sage Creek 4-H. She showed livestock, was the county fair queen, and garnered the title of girl's champion in the small bore rifle competition. (Now there's a scary combination!) She rode her horses to hell and back, with special emphasis on riding into the sunset while harmonica music played in the background.

For her complete bio, filled with her special brand of humor, go to http://www.jacquierogers.com/bio.html 

Oh, but wait until you’ve read this post and commented on it, please!

Jacquie said I have to answer the questions below, so here goes:

What am I working on?

My current work is GABE KINCAID, book four in the Kincaid series. Gabe is a second or third cousin of the other main characters of the series. His grandfather and Judge Kincaid are brothers and Gabe came from Austin to Kincaid Falls to work in the Judge’s law office. But even in the Southwest, we hold to the Southern tradition of treating distant cousins almost like siblings, so Gabe is close to the Kincaid Springs branch of the Kincaid family.  The heroine is Kathryn “Katie” Elizabeth Worthington, posing as a circus fortune teller to escape the influential men who killed her grandfather back in Savannah and want to make sure she doesn’t live to tell what she saw. In the meantime, she’s up to her ears in new trouble and must rely on Gabe and the Kincaids to help her.  

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Wow, this is a hard question. Each author, in my opinion, has a distinct voice and style that creates a particular difference from other writers. When I follow authors, it’s because of that voice. Other than that, all of my historical romance novels include murder and/or mayhem. They’re romances with mystery. The only exception is the novella HAPPY IS THE BRIDE, which is a wedding comedy of errors, written because my editor at the time wanted an historic wedding resembling “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” I don’t like that show, but I do like HAPPY IS THE BRIDE.

Why do I write what I write?

I write the type books I enjoy reading. Well, I enjoy other type such as Regency and World War II settings, but I haven’t written one of those—yet. I believe my love of western history began because my dad used to tell stories of his family after they came from Georgia to Texas in 1876. I loved those stories and never tired of hearing them. When you place your ancestors in historical settings, the history comes alive. That’s what happened for me. I absorbed a lot of Texas history for the last quarter of the 19^th century. That led me to research more and more. Now I feel comfortable writing about that era, but I’m still learning new things about that time. My first historical romance was THE MOST UNSUITABLE WIFE.

How does my writing process work?

First, I see an inciting incident in my head as if I were watching a movie. A lot of writers have this experience, by the way, so don’t call the men in white coats yet. The part I see shows the main characters, but it’s not always the first of the book. Sometimes, it gets moved as far as chapter three, but it’s always near the front. I use names from the time period in which the story is set, sometimes ancestral names so I can be certain they were around at the time. For instance, Cenora Rose from THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE and Parmelia Bailey from LONG WAY HOME are family names. Writing a book takes me about three or months—unless life interferes. For my last two books, life played havoc with my schedule. I do plot my works, but also allow myself to deviate from my plot if my muse takes over and wants to include something new. The plot is like a roadmap, and I can take side trips but come back to the main highway. I write full time, from six to twelve hours a day. Unfortunately, that time includes marketing, which steals a lot of writing time. But I want readers to buy my books, so the marketing is necessary. I would write even if no one bought my books, but I’d much rather readers read my books and enjoy them. And leave reviews on Amazon. Reviews are important to an author.

Jacquie instructed me to find three authors to follow me with posts next week.

     

      Mary Alice Adair writes historical romance with Cherokee and English characters, PASSION'S VISION is the first of her Passion series. Mary used to be one of my critique partners, but she and her husband moved from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to the Cherokee area of Eastern Oklahoma. She has researched the Cherokee in colonial times and has become an authority on their lifestyle. For her research, she used a book written by her husband’s ancestor, James Adair, which is the definitive work of the time. Her blog is at http://www.authormaryadair.blogspot.com/

         Carra Copelin writes contemporary romance with suspense elements. She and her husband live in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. She is writing the Code series, the first of which is CODE OF HONOR. Carra is one of my critique partners who keeps me on the writing path. She also researches her books with care for detail. She’s President of the Yellow Rose Chapter of Romance Writers of America. Find her at http://carracopelin.com/blog.html

           Anna Jeffrey writes contemporary romance and steamy women’s fiction. Anna also is half the team of the Dixie Cash books. Yes, she is fun to talk to, much like the Dixie Cash books are to read. But her Anna Jeffrey books are great reads. Her latest is THE TYCOON, the steamy first of her Sons of Texas series. Her West Texas series and Idaho series are not to be missed. Find her at http://annajeffreyauthor.wordpress.com/

Thanks for stopping by!

COMING SOON!

Every author wants to gain more readers. To accomplish this goal, many authors are joining together to produce a boxed set of their books which they offer at a bargain price for readers. It’s not a trick, not exactly.

Readers, we need you. Without readers, our efforts to produce book after book would be futile.  We love writing, love having our books read and appreciated. If we can gain more readers, we’re game for almost anything . . . well, almost anything.

Eight friends and I have united to produce what we think is a wonderful boxed set, NINE WAYS TO FALL IN LOVE.  We will release the set on September 1^st for only 99 cents at Amazon. What a deal!  Each book is a romance, but some are suspense and some are humor. 

Here’s a rundown of the authors and titles:

Caroline Clemmons, THE TEXAN’S IRISH BRIDE, a western historical romance.

Carra Copelin, CODE OF HONOR, a contemporary romance with mystery

Geri Foster, OUT OF THE SHADOWS, a contemporary, sexy, romantic suspense

Kathy Ivan, LOSING CASSIE, contemporary paranormal romantic suspense

Anna Jeffrey, SWEET RETURN, contemporary romance

Paty Jager, SECRET OF A MAYAN MOON, contemporary, an Isabella Mumphrey mystery/romantic suspense

DeLaine Roberts, TWO SIDES OF A HEARTBEAT, a contemporary romance with mystery

Jacquie Rogers, SLEIGHT OF HEART, a western historical romance

Beth Trissel, SOMEWHERE MY LOVE, a paranormal romance

To introduce our boxed set, we will be giving away lots of prizes all through September. Giveawys include a Kindle FireHD, a Coach backpack purse filled with books, gift cards, jewelry, and many other prizes. To sign up for the prizes, go to www.southerncomfortromance.com and sign up for the newsletter.

Thanks for stopping by!